Reviewers Praise Blalock's Performance

The first set of reviews for Wednesday night's 'Stigma' show an overall positive verdict, with Jolene Blalock in particular receiving praise for her performance of T'Pol.

SpiderMonkee at Lowerdecks.com gave 'Stigma' a B+, and particular liked its use of continuity: "Stigma makes good use of in-series continuity by showing that the events of previous episodes can have future ramifications. Not only is that good from a story telling standpoint, but it makes each individual episode more important to watch, as the episodes don't stand in a vacuum." SpiderMonkee approved of Blalock's performance, and how it also tied in with the continuity. "Jolene Blalock did a solid job with her portrayal of T'Pol. There have been hints in recent episodes suggesting that she is not well, and even in her scene dining with Archer, she looks a bit shaky, rocking slightly in her seat as they converse." Read more at this page.

ScoopMe'sC.J. Carter believes that Rick Berman and Brannon Braga "elevated the episode into something more" than a "not-too-subtle history lesson", and was impresssed with Blalock. "Kudos must be sent to Jolene Blalock for a well delivered performance", she wrote. "T'Pol is the most complex Vulcan character we've seen on any Trek show, and Ms Blalock is running with it. T'Pol is emotive without being emotional. Using body language, eye movement, and subtle facial expressions, she gives a great deal of insight into T'Pol's struggles with being an alien not only to Humans, but increasingly to her own species as well." Carter's full review is available here.

"As a result of her mind meld with Tolaris in season one's gripping episode, Fusion, T'Pol has contracted Pa'an Syndrome, a deadly virus with no known cure," wrote Matt D. at Trek5.com. "Even though T'Pol "was forced" to meld with Tolaris, she refuses to tell the prejudiced Vulcan doctors how she contracted the disease. Her refusal to cast herself as a victim is central to Stigma's drama." Matt was also positive about Jolene Blalock's performance. "Such sharply focused struggles usually highlight a core performance and Jolene Blalock does a credible job of balancing her emotions in Stigma against the self-righteous Vulcans." The full review, in which Matt rates the episode 4 out of 5, can be found here.

Giving the episode an A rating, Paul S. Torrez at Section31.com was full of praise for Blalock. "Of course, I cannot forget T'Pol and the flawless performance of Jolene Blalock," he wrote. "As a Vulcan, the character shows no emotion but somehow, Blalock is able to convey the fact that she is nevertheless experiencing them. I've never seen a Vulcan character in 'Star Trek' whose facial expressions are actually interesting to watch. There's so much going on between the actress and the character; and in this episode, the camera soaks it up." He also felt the show offered a "glimmer of hope". "If the series continues in this trend of cerebral and thoughtful shows, it'll be able to hold its own against its predecessors." The full review can be found here.

Not everyone was pleased with the episode however — O. Deus at TrekWeb was very unimpressed with 'Stigma'. "Where the original series tackled controversial issues in new ways," wrote O. Deus, "Enterprise spools out a by-the-numbers episode without a trace of subtlety that includes every possible cliche and is dated to anyone who's watched a few episodes of ER, let alone anything more substantial. And in a time when the real challenge of AIDS is now focused on a global effort to fight AIDS in impoverished nations, 'Stigma' is still stuck in a time warp addressing issues that even Touched by an Angel tackled years before." The full review can be found here.